A Usability Study On Museum Installations Emphasizing Interaction Design for User Experience

사용자 경험 증진을 위한 과학관 전시물의 사용성 평가

Many museums have recently employed digital technologies in exhibition installations to provide visitors with interactive experiences with the installations, not just audiences. However, most of them have focused on the adoption of new prototypes or technologies, not considering user experiences of those systems carefully. This study developed an evaluation tool for usability of the tangible user interfaces and conducted a usability study on museum installations emphasizing user interaction and experience. The evaluation tool is composed of 5 features of tangible user interfaces such as tangible, interaction, convenience, representation, spatial interaction and social interaction, and 24 items. The museum we investigated is the Gwacheon National Science Museum, where 8 installations, classified 4 categories, were selected for the usability study. We recruited 6 undergraduate students, who were divided into 2 teams, each team having 3 students. Three students in a team manipulated and experience each installation together and reported their evaluation score through the questionnaire and interviews. The results showed that the score of the usability for the category 3, which requires students to move their bodies for the interaction, is the highest one because it features with spatial interaction. Students expressed much interest in the category 4, which utilizes users' other senses, however, the score of the usability is the lowest because the interaction is temporary and repetitive. Most installations are well designed in terms of control constraints, legibility, lower thresholds, participation encouragement, and open to the public, but pooly designed in terms of multiple access points, configurability, accurate movement, ambient media, and full-body interaction.